A Nation On Fire
Clay Risen joins us this week to blog on his book, A Nation on Fire: America in the Wake of the King Assassination, an account of the riots that raged across the country in April 1968. The narrative delves into each individual riot and explores the broader impact of violence on the American public. Risen also details the efforts of President Johnson, Robert Kennedy and Stokely Carmichael to curb the simmering rage.
From Risen's first post:
Why the King riots were so important in American history: Namely, they were a signal moment for so many white Americans that postwar liberalism had failed to ensure domestic order, even as it had pushed further on racial integration than many whites-in and outside the South-were comfortable with.
Risen is currently the managing editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. Previously, he was assistant editor at The New Republic and has written for The American Prospect, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The New York Observer, Slate, and the Atlantic.
Joining the conversation are Richard Kahlenberg, a Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation; Thomas J. Sugrue, the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor of History and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania; Peniel Joseph, Professor of African-American Studies at Brandeis University; and Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology at Columbia University and regular TPMCafe contributor.
I'll have to look it over. I don't recall Charmichael actually trying to calm things down.
March 30, 2009 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
From what I've read and studied, while Carmichael was more influenced by Malcolm X than others, he was not as ardent about calling on violence as a means of resolution as other members of the Black Panthers. I'm not sure what the exact period of time was that he was with them, but he did end up parting ways with the Panthers over the question of whether whites should be allowed to protest and organize on behalf of the blacks as well - but instead of becoming militaristic over that disagreement, he moved to Guinea.
I haven't fully read Risen's book, but it seems he does analyze some of Carmichael's speeches immediately after the King assassination "which are believed to have quelled (at least temporarily) the violence." (from the Publishers Weekly review!)
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, though!
March 30, 2009 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yersha,
Stokely Carmichael was very charismatic. I remember being mesmerized by his first Black Power Speech. I also remember himstanding up to LBJ encouraging resistance to the draft by leading crowds in the chant, "Hell no, we won't go" I heard both Dr. King and Stokely Carmichael speak against the Vietnam War in NYC on April 15th, 1967. Carmichael, whose Lowndes County Freedom organization first developed the black panther symbol, was very good at inspiring people to stand up courageously. However, his "by any means necessary" speeches made his disagreements with Dr. King's nonviolent philosophy very clear. Any speeches Carmichael may have made to quell the violence that erupted in April 1968 didn't make it to the mainstream media, at least as far as I can recall.
Glad to hear that some are interested in researching all of this.
Best,
Tom
March 30, 2009 6:57 PM | Reply | Permalink